Cardamom Turkish Coffee
Kakuleli Türk kahvesikah-koo-leh-LEE tewrk kah-veh-see
A thick, foamy Turkish-style coffee with a cool, floral, slightly eucalyptus lift from green cardamom. One pod per cup, crushed just before it goes in, is the difference between perfumed and soapy.
At a glance
- Coffee : water
- 1:10
- Active time
- 2 min
- Total time
- 6 min
- Makes
- 1 small cup
- Serve
- Hot, with water
- Kit
- Cezve
Ingredients
Note: Some Turkish and Lebanese brands sell coffee already ground with cardamom. It is convenient and it tastes noticeably flatter, because the cardamom aroma fades within weeks of grinding.
Method
-
Crack the cardamom
Split the pod with the flat of a knife or in a mortar, pull out the small black seeds and crush them roughly. Throw the seeds and the papery husk both in. The husk adds a little, too.
Do this right before brewing. The aroma starts escaping the moment the seeds are broken.
-
Everything in, cold, and stir
Water, coffee, sugar and cardamom into the cezve. Stir until smooth, then put the spoon down for good.
-
Heat it slowly
Lowest flame, three to four minutes, until the foam forms and starts to swell. The kitchen will smell of cardamom about a minute before it is ready.
3 to 4 minutes -
Foam first, then pour
Spoon the foam into the cup, return the cezve to the flame for a few seconds until it rises once more, then pour slowly down the side of the cup. Let it settle for a minute.
The cardamom settles with the grounds. Nobody strains it.
Settle 1 minute
Why this works
Most of cardamom's flavour comes from two compounds: 1,8-cineole, the same one that dominates eucalyptus and gives that cool, clean lift, and alpha-terpinyl acetate, which is sweeter and more floral. Both are volatile and both sit inside the seeds, protected by the husk. Crack the pod and they start to evaporate. Grind it and they are gone within weeks, which is why coffee sold pre-blended with cardamom tastes dusty rather than bright.
The cold start suits cardamom as much as it suits the foam. The seeds steep as the water climbs, releasing aroma gradually instead of being hit with boiling water and losing it straight up into the air. Lifting the cezve before it boils traps the aromatics beneath the foam, and they arrive when you raise the cup.
Quantity is narrow. Cineole is pleasant in small amounts and medicinal in large ones. One pod per 70 ml cup gives a clear perfume over the coffee. Three tastes of cough drops.
Cardamom in coffee is far older and more widespread in the Arab world than in Turkey proper, where coffee is usually drunk plain. In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, the cezve is called a rakweh and the coffee often comes with cardamom by default. Across the Gulf, the spice takes over almost completely, in a lightly roasted, unfoamed qahwa where the coffee is the supporting act.
Variations
- Lebanese style: a slightly darker roast and two pods, often with a few drops of orange blossom water in the cup.
- With mastic: a small crushed tear of mastic alongside the cardamom, which gives a pine note.
- With cloves: a single clove with the cardamom, as some Palestinian families make it.
- Iced: brew a double strength pot, let the grounds settle, decant and pour over ice with a spoon of condensed milk.
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Questions
How much cardamom should I put in coffee?
One green pod, crushed, per 70 ml cup. Two if you want it strong. More than that and the eucalyptus note turns medicinal.
Can I use ground cardamom?
Yes, about a pinch per cup, but it will taste flatter. The aroma escapes quickly once ground. Freshly cracked pods are much brighter.
Is cardamom coffee Turkish or Arabic?
Both, but more Arabic. In Turkey coffee is usually plain. In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine it is often brewed with cardamom by default, and in the Gulf the cardamom is stronger than the coffee.
Do you strain out the cardamom?
No. The seeds settle at the bottom with the coffee grounds and stay there.